Games › CRPG › CRPG + Card Game
Should I ship a Card Game CRPG?
CRPG + Card Game
Only 17 developers shipped a Card Game CRPG in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, All in Abyss: Judge the Fake, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 33 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×2.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×120 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 33 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $719 (exactly $719) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.3k (exactly $3,293) |
| Top 25% | $20k (exactly $20,441) |
| Top 5% | $180k (exactly $179,888) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 52 |
| Announced | 33 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 85% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- CRPG, Card Game; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Card Battler, RPG, Strategy
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 1,315 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
CRPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + IncrementalLong shot
- + FMVPoor odds
- + Card BattlerPoor odds
- + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds
- + SpacePoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Tainted Grail: Conquest | older | $19.99 | 7,589 90% | 228k | $4.6M (exactly $4,551,123) | Questline |
| | Sovereign Syndicate | older | $19.99 | 573 79% | 17k | $344k (exactly $343,628) | Crimson Herring Studios |
| | Shadowhand: RPG Card Game | older | $16.99 | 668 82% | 20k | $340k (exactly $340,480) | Grey Alien Games |
| | Ancient Enemy | older | $16.99 | 386 89% | 12k | $197k (exactly $196,744) | Grey Alien Games |
| | All in Abyss: Judge the Fake | $15.99 | 375 54% | 11k | $180k (exactly $179,888) | ACQUIRE Corp., WSS playground | |
| | Shards of Order | $9.99 | 578 90% | 17k | $173k (exactly $173,227) | Fardust | |
| | Fated Kingdom | older | $9.99 | 260 73% | 7.8k | $78k (exactly $77,922) | GameLiberty |
| | Voice of Belldona | · EA | $11.99 | 117 72% | 3.5k | $42k (exactly $42,085) | StoryCropStudio |
| | SOULVARS | older | $16.99 | 70 78% | 2.1k | $36k (exactly $35,679) | ginolabo, SUCCESS Corp. |
| | Claymores of the Lost Kingdom | $9.99 | 83 67% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $24,875) | Ultaan Games | |
| | Brave × Junction | $10.99 | 62 83% | 1.9k | $20k (exactly $20,441) | Rideon,Inc., RideonJapan | |
| | PLAYNESE: Master Japanese | · EA | $19.95 | 17 94% | 510 | $10k (exactly $10,174) | Wynand Smit |
| | Herogue | $14.99 | 22 95% | 660 | $9.9k (exactly $9,893) | 巴豆肥工作室 | |
| | Manic Magic Ciena's Desire | $12.99 | 22 68% | 660 | $8.6k (exactly $8,573) | Maidensoft | |
| | Card Rogue | $4.99 | 22 63% | 660 | $3.3k (exactly $3,293) | Game Tsukuru Kun | |
| | Card Streamer Simulator | $2.99 | 17 52% | 510 | $1.5k (exactly $1,525) | Scissors Game |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.